By Ana Ley :
January 22, 2013
: Updated: January 22, 2013 10:08pm

A terrible odor prompted neighbors to call Live Oak police about a home where 14 cats and five dogs were living in filthy, inhumane conditions, resulting in the arrest of the homeowner's son.

Neighbors complained about the house in the 7600 block of Antique Oak on Jan. 10 because they feared a 68-year-old woman might have died inside her home, according to an arrest warrant affidavit for Timothy Talbert, 43.

Neighbors told police that Talbert lived across the street and was seen leaving for work that morning.

An officer inspected the woman's house and found large flies in the window of one bedroom, and noted the back porch and inside of the house apparently were caked over in animal feces.

When nobody answered the door, police called Talbert, who said his mother was fine and the smell and flies were likely because one of his mother's cats had died and he hadn't had time to dispose of the body.

Police said Talbert told the officer he didn't want him to enter the house without him.

The officer waited about 45 minutes for Talbert to come home, during which time more officers arrived.

The woman told the officers she was fine, but they entered to ensure no one else was inside.

The smell was so bad they had to wear protective masks and coverings for their uniforms, police said. Feces were piled about 10 inches high in the living room.

After an hour of searching, they couldn't find the dead cat.

After speaking with the woman, they concluded she could walk and take care of herself, though she suffers from asthma, depression and heart problems and has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Talbert said most of the cats had been placed in his home by the Schertz Humane Society so the family could foster the animals.

Agency staffers told police they didn't know the animals were being confined in such a manner and that Talbert and his mother might have had as many as 15 cats from the humane society at one point.

Police said four cats are in especially bad shape — malnourished and covered in fleas, with discharge from their noses and eyes.

The animals were taken to the Live Oak Animal Control facility, where employees determined that the cats were losing hair because of long confinement.

Talbert was arrested Tuesday and charged with four counts of cruelty to a nonlivestock animal, a Class A misdemeanor. Bail was set at $14,000.

After the rest of the animals are examined, he could face more counts of animal cruelty, police said in a statement.